Reality is the Worst Illusion
by Bomahe
Summary: Everything that has happened in Sasuke's life after the Uchiha massacre turned out to be a lie, a product of his brother's Tsukuyomi. He now has to relive his genin days, while making sure the world doesn't collapse around him.
1. Dawn of a New Day

**Chapter 1: Dawn of a New Day**

"No matter what you decide to do from now on…

… I will love you forever," said Itachi, before his Edo-Tensei body completely dissolved. At this point, Sasuke noticed that it wasn't just Itachi that broke up into pieces of paper. He saw his hands, the cave and everything around him wither away until only a black void was left.

* * *

 **Moments later.**

"Sasuke, good to see that you're awake," said a worried Hokage.

"What happened?" Answered Sasuke, confused about the situation.

"Itachi trapped you in his Tsukuyomi."

"Tsukuyomi?" Sasuke was a bit confused. It would make no sense that Itachi would do that, and besides, his brother was dead.

"The Tsukuyomi is a powerful genjutsu, a product of the Sharingan. It traps the victim in a world where the user has control over every detail. You've sadly been out for a few years. So I've arranged for a private tutor to help you catch up with the academy."

It wasn't before now that Sasuke noticed he was young and innocent again. The 3rd being alive should be a dead giveaway. Along with him being in a hospital, and not a T&I interrogation chamber. Even his dense teammate would have noticed something was off before him.

* * *

Later in the day, Sasuke got to leave the hospital for some hours and he decided to test his own strength. If he was Naruto, he'd probably challenge the first chuunin or jounin he met. But no one in their right mind would do that, so he settled for some simple exercises. His first discovery was that his body was working quite well for not being used in a couple of years. On the other hand, being able to prevent muscle deterioration is quite important for a ninja village.

His first idea was to try out the Chidori, however activating his Sharingan proved to be harder than he thought. After an hour, he was forced to accept that he wasn't ready yet. Luckily he didn't need his eyes to activate the Jutsu, only to aim.

" **Chidori.** "

Nothing happened, not even the electric feeling he got the first time he tried it with Kakashi. Perhaps something simpler.

" **Henge.** "

" **Kawarimi.** "

" **Bunshin.** "

Still nothing. It was like if everything he had learnt about chakra manipulation was wrong. His last attempt was, however, successful - a pitiful attempt at the grand fireball technique. It was better than his performance when he was 8-years-old, not that it was any comfort. Because that meant that he was perfectly in shape to perform Jutsu. It just meant that he was most likely an academy student in every way apart from his life and battle experience.

* * *

 **Years later...**

He was back in the classroom, waiting for his instructor and the last member of the team. While he was wondering how Itachi could have known that he would end up with Sakura. Did he have a hand in this? Sasuke did, after all, see a black crow flying over his head a week ago. That could've been Itachi's... right? But doubtful, crows were a common bird around Konoha. It would be silly to assume that every one of them carried messages to the Hokage demanding special treatment for his little brother. It also raised a chilling possibility that he was still in a Genjutsu. What was the real world, this, or the one where he was a wanted criminal?

The silence around him attested to the worst thing about the experience, namely the lack of a hyperactive ninja who would with no doubt plan a way to get back on their tardy sensei. Why would Itachi want him to create a bond with a person who simply didn't exist? Or maybe Naruto didn't get to become a ninja. He really should have been looking for his friend, but he had just recently recovered from the effects of the Tsukuyomi. Getting his body in shape and catching up to the rest of his class took most of his time, not to mention all the rest he needed. Quite ironic, being out for years, and still needed lots of sleep.

"Sasuke-kun, are you sure we're meeting up in the right place? What if he came looking for us already, and… and decided to fail us because he couldn't see us?" asked an increasingly nervous Sakura.

He never paid much attention to Sakura in his _previous_ life. No one could argue that she was useless in the start, but what civilian _wouldn't_ be useless in comparison to clan children who all had special training others could only dream of? And later, when she actually improved under the tutelage of Tsunade, he only saw her strength in relation to Naruto and Itachi. Who wouldn't be weak in comparison?

"Hmm, I hope you haven't been sitting inside too long, the air in here isn't good for you."

A kunai whizzed from the direction of Sakura, forcing Kakashi to dodge. Maybe he shouldn't surprise his students by climbing in the window. Fresh, anxious genins had a tendency to be a bit rash when being startled. Of course, they weren't genins yet, which brought him back to what he came there for. "The last member of the team isn't back from his mission before later today, so take the day off and meet me at training ground 3 at 6 am tomorrow morning" he informed them before leaving as fast as he came.

* * *

 **Next day**

Sakura was the first to arrive on the training ground. When she saw a young blond academy student doing some warmups. If his fashion sense were anything to judge from, he couldn't be that good of an academy student even. Who wore a black midriff jacket? And the short sword on his back signalised to her that he became a ninja because it was cool. She didn't bother to pay much attention to the kid. She had learnt from the previous day and wasn't the smartest kunoichi in her class for nothing. So today she brought with her enough reading material to last at least half a day.

Sasuke decided to spend his morning helping old ladies with their groceries, hoping that he would stumble upon his sensei.

He was no longer in a hurry.

His one and only goal in life was not to kill Itachi anymore. If anything, he would go out of his way to save him. Was that one the purpose on the genjutsu? To tell Sasuke to never give up on his precious ones? Even if they were responsible for the names on the rock behind him? Could he forgive even if there were no secret orders to wipe out their clan?

When Kakashi arrived at the memorial stone, Sasuke had already fallen asleep. With the calm expression and the drool running down from his mouth, the Jounin noted humorously that he kind of looked like Obito. If Sasuke was anything like his dead teammate, what better way was there to embarrass him in front of the girl he had a crush on. So he threw "Obito" on his shoulders and strolled off towards the training ground much earlier than he had planned.

* * *

This was not how Sasuke wanted to wake up from his nap, by being dropped by his sensei.

"Sensei, who is that kid?" asked Sakura, referring to the blond academy student she had seen earlier.

"That's Uzumaki Naruto, he's filling out the last spot."

"How can he be a genin already and not Sasuke-kun?"

"ANBU." Kakashi murmured, a glazed look in his eye.

"What?"

"He's an ANBU-agent, not a genin."

So _that's_ why Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto at the academy.

"Sensei, when did the Kyuubi attack the village?" asked Sasuke suddenly. Hopefully asking innocuous questions now and then would occasionally yield some useful information, and hopefully he wouldn't be sent to a Yamanaka for an interrogation or a mental check - so long as he didn't push his luck.

"9 years ago, why do you ask?"

"Nothing." Sasuke was _not_ trying to draw too much suspicion from a ninja with a motto of 'a ninja must look underneath the underneath'.

"Time for all of us to get better acquainted. Stuff like your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams," Kakashi drawled, .

…

"Since there aren't any volunteers, why don't you go first... Obito?"

What should Sasuke say this time? His eyes were no longer filled with hate for his brother. He couldn't actually tell a jounin of the village that his life goal was to save his mass murdering brother and help a boy he'd never meet before. And for his likes? He could take a page from Naruto and say 'what I like is fresh tomato and what I dislike is the 3 months it takes for them to ripen' if he wanted to look like a fool.

But before he could think too much about his response, his thoughts were interrupted by cold steel against his neck.

"Answer," ordered Naruto.

In a panic, he just had to go for it. "Uchiha Sasuke, not Obito. What I like is a fresh tomato and I dislike the 3 months it takes for them to ripen. My dream for the future is to save my precious ones, and my hobbies include mostly training."

He didn't know why he was acting like this. He could keep calm in the darkest parts of Orochimaru's lair while being terrified of his old friend. If only this could make Sakura see him as a fool, but that was probably a bit too optimistic.

Kakashi was, for a moment, worried that he would be the first jounin-sensei to lose a genin within the first 5 minutes of the first team gathering. Normally it took years before teammates tried to kill each other. ' _Just my luck,'_ he thought to himself with a mental eyeroll.

"Why you do that, Naruto?" Kakashi sighed.

"The punishment for insubordination is death," Naruto stated plainly.

Not wanting to risk Sakura's life for an introduction, Kakashi decided to start the real test.

"This is your target for today," he said while holding out two bells."Those with the a bell at noon makes it into the team, those without will be sent back to the academy."

The last part was very clearly directed at Sakura and Sasuke.

"You're not allowed to take the bells from each other, and remember you if you want one you need to come at me with the intent to kill."

At the instant Kakashi said "start", the three of them went into cover. And it didn't take many seconds before a rain of kunai was heading in his direction. In which he dodged by replacing himself with a log in the last second. This lasted for a couple of rounds, each volley just getting bigger and faster than the last. Clearly a product of the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.

Sasuke was a bit unsure about what he should be doing. Kakashi could use Kawarimi as much as needed in this terrain, as long as he had enough time to react. Trying to fight would be pointless as Naruto was doing a much better job than he'd any chance of doing. Best case scenario, he would just be in the way.

Before too long, Naruto was back with a new plan with the help of Sakura. If that's what you call being a hostage.

"Give me the bells or she dies!" yelled Naruto, while holding his tanto against her throat.

This had to be the best day in Kakashi's life. Two of his _genin_ had been one wrong move away from death, and he had not even passed them yet. He was definitely writing down some bottles of sake as work related expenses later the day. First he had to resolve this problem. He could try to save Sakura by charging on Naruto, but that would most likely lead to a dead genin. Just giving over the bells would tell Naruto that he's pushover. Given that he'd no idea what purpose Naruto had on the team, that wouldn't be good at all. So what better way to solve it than let Obito have a look.

" **Mangekyō.** "

And just as his eye had activated, Naruto collapsed on the ground. He ran towards Sakura, who was beyond terrified at this point, to help her up and give her some much-needed support.

"The test is over," said a quite tired Kakashi. He had not expected to use _that_ in what was supposed to only be a genin test. "Sasuke, please carry Naruto with you."

After Kakashi had tied Naruto to the tree stump, secure enough to hold an S-class ninja, he gave Sakura and Sasuke a simple question.

"Why should I pass the team?" Kakashi asked with a stern expression.

"If you don't pass Naruto, someone else will. And that will get someone killed," Sasuke answered.

"And why should I pass _you_?"

"I won't give up on him, even if I have to break some rule in the process. And no enemy will scare Sakura after being on his team, so she'll be useful, eventually."

"I'll guess I'll pass you then, congratulation Sasuke and Sakura, you're now officially genins."

"Sasuke-kun, do you want to go out and eat?" Sakura asked with a bit of enthusiasm. "It's not a date or anything, the rest of the class will be there too. We're going to celebrate becoming ninjas"

Before Sasuke could give a proper response, Kakashi interrupted. "Actually, I want to talk to you Sasuke about something you said earlier"

"Do I have a choice?" Sasuke queried, worried that Kakashi had figured out something was wrong with him.

"No" Kakashi answered, with his usual smug smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note(s):** I want to thank EndoplasmicPanda for help and inspiration for this chapter.


	2. Children's games

**Chapter 2: Children's games**

 **At Ichiraku Ramen**

"Do you know why I took you here?" Kakashi asked in a friendly tone. He was fully aware that Sasuke was quite nervous at the moment, and wouldn't want it to sound like an interrogation. "Naruto's mother, Kushina, loved to eat here. She took us here after missions when Obito and Rin were still alive. After Rin's death, I couldn't stand going here anymore. Obito died because of me. I killed Rin to save the village from the Sanbi, neglecting to look for other alternatives. I couldn't use the Chidori for years until Obito forgave me."

"Forgave you?" Sasuke really hoped he wasn't dealing with a mentally unstable jounin. That was _never_ a good sign.. The entire reason people believed in the cover-up story after the massacre was due to jounin occasionally snapping.

"He answered me one night while I was talking to him by the memorial stone. Called me Bakashi even." Kakashi chuckled at the memory.

"Why are you telling me this?" Sasuke doubted that his sensei called him here just to have someone feel sorry for him.

"I don't want you to ruin yourself if you fail. Feeling sorry for yourself won't bring people back, it will only make you fail more people. So what's your plan?"

"My plan?"

"You wanted to help Naruto, or was that something you said just to pass the test?"

"What, beating him up while he prattled off a speech?" Sasuke hadn't really thought about this at all. It seemed so easy when Naruto did it. It worked well on Neji and Gaara, so maybe he shouldn't dismiss the idea to quickly.

Helping out with people's issues had never _particularly_ been one of the Uchiha's strong suits. Apart from Obito of course.

"Do you feel like you can relate to him in any way?" Kakashi continued, before shrugging. "You should try to evoke some sort of emotion from him… you can't connect to an emotionless person. And also, try to find out who his _brother_ was."

"What is so important about his brother?"

"It's part of how Root train orphans. They put them together in pairs of two. Have them train, live and bond together. In the end, they are forced to fight each other to death. Refuse and both dies. Break him by bringing back the memories, and you might have the chance from him to heal properly."

"Your food is ready," Teuchi said to them and served them five bowls of ramen. Kakashi took three of them and placed them in front of the empty chairs beside them, knowing that they'll never get eaten. The rest of the meal passed in silence.

"I'll have to go, forgot to feed my pet fox. If you're fast you might meet up with Sakura and the rest, I think they are meeting at Yakiniku Q." Kakashi said after they had finished eating.

 **At Yakiniku Q earlier in the day.**

Sakura was glad to see that everyone had passed and was present.

"Forehead, where is Sasuke-kun?" said Ino, her best friend and rival. Sure, there had been some conflict between them in the past, but they had stopped being silly about it and realized that they both had a better chance with Sasuke if they worked together.

"Sensei wanted to talk with him about something. I'm sure he'll join us later. "

"I wish I were on the team with Sasuke-kun... do you want to switch places with me?"

"You can have him, as long as I can get away from Naruto... I'm scared... I should never have become a ninja." Sakura's bright green eyes wobbled in existential fear, her voice quivering ever so slightly as she trailed off.

Silence overtook their small group as the young kunoichi's announcement echoed off the walls. Her comrades' eyes were all on her now - but it was Ino, naturally, who felt the nerve to speak first.

"What happened, Sakura?"

"He tried to kill me and Sasuke." Sakura's voice was barely above a whisper, as she twiddled with the bottom of her jacket under the table."If… if sensei hadn't managed to stop him, I'd be dead now."

Ino frowned. This was… surprising, to say the least. Not only was she abandoning her longtime crush and idol, she was also threatening to give up _being a ninja._

 _Whatever it was that Naruto happened to do, it must have been bad_ , she concluded mentally. _Regardless, it's time for damage control_.

She turned and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the poor girl, not missing how Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin at the contact. "Sasuke-kun will be there to protect you, and I won't let you die." Ino smirked. "Besides. Who else is going to help me pick out a wedding dress?"

"Don't you mean my wedding dress?" Sakura started to laugh. Ino was right, she shouldn't be afraid of a little kid. Even if that kid was stronger than Sasuke, and scarier than her mother.

 **With Kakashi**

Kakashi decided that his _pet fox_ could wait a little longer; it needed to learn a lesson. Right now he needed to find his _rival_ : that, however, was an easy task. He could just sit outside the village walls reading, because it didn't take a genius to determine that Gai would soon come around walking on his hands, blindfolded or doing something equally ridiculous for the day.

After a few hours, the green-clad jounin finally came flying around the corner - this time doing backwards cartwheels.

"Gai, do you mind doing me a favour?" Kakashi said when the man was within casual speaking distance.

"What do you need? I'm ready for anything!" Gai said, striking the nice guy pose, all the while still balancing on one hand. And sadly, it was not an unusual pose for his rival and friend.

"Just training my genin for a day, some teamwork exercises along with your team. Naruto is a bit of a hopeless case, so why not ask an expert?"

"Of course, I will help you."

"Good, I'll tell them to meet up at the training grounds tomorrow morning."

Now, just one thing left before he could get drunk with his book. He just needed to get some groceries first.

 **Finally, at Training ground 3...**

"Have you learnt your lesson now?"

Kakashi was growing mad due to the fact that Naruto was not answering him... until he remembered that he had gagged him. He was used to seeing his own mouth covered, so he didn't find anything out of order with the tight piece of cloth Naruto was wearing in front of his mouth.

Nothing a kunai couldn't fix, as he wasn't too worried if he _grazed_ Naruto's skin in the process.

"What lesson?" Naruto asked.

"About treating your teammates with respect and not trying to _kill them_."

Naruto's expression remained unchanged. "Sasuke violated the rules, so I scared him a bit for you. I found that using the girl was the most efficient way to complete the mission. Those actions had nothing to do with failing the mission."

"Is the mission the only thing you care about?"

"No, if Danzo tells me otherwise..."

"So I should talk to Danzo about this?" Kakashi interrupted. In hindsight, he should have let Naruto finish, but hopefully, he would spill more information later.

"No," Naruto stated with a nervous tone.

"So you won't put your teammates in danger in the future?"

"Hai. Will you release me now?" Naruto's voice was now clearly affected by pain.

Kakashi had to admit that he had been a bit thoughtless with the steel wires. It had dug deep into Naruto's skin and he had clearly been bleeding for a long time. If it wasn't for the genjutsu he had cast earlier, he might have been arrested for torturing his cute little _genin_. He did consider healing the injury but decided against it. He had no idea what Naruto went through in Root, so he couldn't be seen as too lenient, or the punishment would have no effect. And he would especially not be seen as a weak pushover.

"Meet up at training ground 3 tomorrow at 6:00," Kakashi said before leaving Naruto to his own devices.

 **Sasuke's Apartment, 04:30, the next day**

 ***Knock Knock***

 ***Knock Knock***

"OPEN UP!" Tenten yelled as loud as a half-asleep girl could at this time of day. She couldn't care less about waking up the neighbours. This was one of the reasons she had discussed with Neji to run away as missing-nin. There would be no crazy sensei, nor any overly zealous follower. They could get proper sleep in the morning, and their training sessions would be _far_ less stressful. And, as an added bonus. Neji would no longer be a caged bird under his clan. Sadly, her teammate was convinced that he was fated to stay in the village, and didn't believe they would be able to get away anyway.

"What is it?" Sasuke said. It was hard to see if he was half-awake or just sleep walking.

"Get dressed and met up at training ground 3 as soon as possible." She was not a pervert kunoichi who would want him to train in his boxers. She had no idea what they saw in him, but she guessed being "The last Uchiha" _helped_ him.

 **At training ground 3**

Sakura was not happy today, having been woken up by a pervy Hyuuga. What kind of guy looks at a girl in her underwear?! Sure, she hadn't gotten dressed before opening the door, but that was totally his fault for not giving her enough time. At least, he got rewarded with a well-placed punch to the face, which he was not awake enough to dodge. Tenten had gone and retrieved Sasuke-kun. Sakura hoped for her sake that she wasn't a pervert like her teammate, and hadn't lusted after Sasuke's body.

She could, at least, get some more sleep. Lee was still looking for Naruto. Not knowing where he lived wasn't a deterrent for him. Sasuke had the same idea and was already asleep, so she could take advantage and sleep next to him. ' _Take that, Ino-pig_ ,' she smirked.

It wasn't until just before 6:00 that Naruto arrived, alone. And another 2 hours before Lee had given up looking and came back. Tenten and Neji were about to try to kill their sensei, one thing was to start the day way too early, another thing was when it was all wasted.

"Now that everyone is here, we can start with some youthful team exercises," Gai said,holding up some ropes as if the _six_ genin were supposed to know what it was used for. "I will split you into three teams and you'll spread yourself in the forest. Your task is simple, track down your target without getting caught yourself. Then try to defeat them before the 3rd team catches up."

"And the ropes?" Sakura asked.

"You will be tied together with your teammates, so your legs are linked."

"The teams will be Neji and Sasuke, Sakura and Tenten, and Lee and Naruto."

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Sasuke asked. It would be hard to find any team more dysfunctional. Lee was the tallest of them, and Naruto the shortest by a good margin. Tenten probably hated kunoichi like Sakura, who were more obsessed with him, than becoming a respectable ninja. And the Uchiha and Hyuuga wasn't exactly on a friendly tone with each other. He recalled that none of them had shown up at the funeral after the massacre. The _first_ time at least. Despite every other clan being represented.

Gai proceeded to lead each of the teams to each their own spot.

 **With Naruto and Lee**

"Our targets are Sakura and Tenten. What are Tenten's abilities?" Naruto asked Lee, more of an order than a question.

"She is a weapons specialist. Do you have a plan?"

"We wait and do nothing. The Hyuuga and his Byakugan will find us easily, so we don't want to engage Sakura and Tenten while we're open for a flanked ambush. We move to an open clearing and prepare. Hiding will give us no benefit in this situation," Naruto explained.

"So what do you think about finally becoming a ninja?" Lee asked Naruto. There was no point trying to be silent.

"I've always been a ninja," Naruto said.

"What do you mean? You didn't attend the academy?"

"I can't remember a time when I wasn't a ninja. So no, I didn't."

Just as they had planned, Sasuke and Neji entered the clearing, and their conversation was over for the time being. Before Lee could ask the obvious question, and before the other team could figure it out themselves, Naruto _cheated_ himself out of the ropes binding the genin together by creating a decent group of clones. Some of them moved into position, guarding Lee and their original.

" **Kage Bushin."**

"Throw everything you can at the clones in front of them, take the original and the clones will fall," Neji said to Sasuke.

"Hai," Sasuke said. There was no need for him to be difficult, even if he didn't like being ordered around by an Hyuuga. He began by throwing some kunai to distract the clones, and then weaved his fingers together in an all-too-familiar handseal.

" **Grand Fireball Technique."**

Unsurprisingly, it worked pretty well; Sasuke managed to take down most of Naruto's clone shield with the single jutsu alone. Which would have been good, if it wasn't for the fact that Naruto could pretty easily replace them. Neji didn't have much luck take advantage of the opening either. Now they just need to prepare another attack and be prepared to take advantage of the opening next time.

They were so focused on their targets that they missed the fact that Naruto's clones had surrounded them.

" **Grand Fireball Technique!"** yelled the clones, and a handful of fireballs soared towards them.

"On three, jump," Neji quickly informed Sasuke. "One... two... three!"

If you ever have had 12 fireballs flying towards you, you would know that jumping above them and hope they will fly past you is a terrible idea. Which is why this was one of Naruto's best techniques, as few knew how to handle the situation. Sasuke recognized this a bit too late. In two seconds, the Jutsu would explode and fry them alive Water Jutsu to protect them was out of the question as neither of them knew any. His Sharingan had not activated, despite being in a life threatening situation. He had no bijuu with an existential crisis. Kawarimi didn't work, as he was tied to Neji. Not to forget the preparation needed to use it. Fighting fire with fire wouldn't work in this situation as his Jutsu was weaker. His only hope was that the Byakugan had developed some critical ability in the heat of the battle.

" **Dynamic Rescue!"** yelled Gai, flying towards them. With a fraction of a second left, Gai got them in safety, before the fireballs collided into each other and created an even greater fireball - one that would've made his father look like a little child.

A child who would moments after get told that he was a disappointment.

Told that he has not as good as his older brother.

And he was a bit worried that he might join his father soon.

Two near death experiences in two days, all within the walls of the village started to a become a bit suspicious. Was the Hokage trying to get him killed under the guise of a training accident? Finishing the job Itachi refused to finish and hope that his brother wouldn't turn against the village? He needed to talk to the Hokage, to get some information before the next time Naruto tried to murder him. It could be just Danzo trying to kill him, and not the Hokage himself.

"I'm disappointed in both of you," Gai told _Team Lee_ after they had gathered in the middle of the clearing several moments later. "I don't want to see such a unyouthful behaviour again."

"Gai-sensei, I..." Lee tried to say before he got interrupted.

"You're supposed to be the experienced ones and be a good example to the younger generation," Gai stated, surprisingly serious considering his typical demeanour.

"And you, Naruto." Gai turned to the blond shinobi. "You don't use lethal Jutsu against a fellow Konoha-nin."

"How am I supposed to kill enemy ninja if I never practise my Jutsu?" Naruto stated having a hard time hiding this annoyance about this ridiculous request.

Gai decided to not answer. Arguing with the kid would just cement his belief. Who's brilliant idea was it to let people like him and Kakashi lead a team of children with no proper guidance? The only reason he had success with Lee was the similarities he had with the child when he was younger himself. When trying the same approach with Neji he was meet with a not-so-gentle fist. The only ones insisting on perpetuating the belief that you became an adult when you got your hitai-ate were civilians wanting to sell alcohol to children or involving them in some sort of unyouthful business. Safe to say, the latter would be dealt with harshly.

"500 extra rounds around the village after we're done for the day, Lee. We can't fall behind Team-Kakashi. Seeing how strong Naruto got in one day under my rival, you need to put in some extra effort. It might also help you reflect on your actions today," Gai said.

"Thank you sensei," Lee said with tears in his eyes.

 **Author's Note(s):** I want to thank EndoplasmicPanda for help in writing this chapter.


	3. Road to Suna

**Chapter 3: Road to Suna**

* * *

Sasuke was impressed by Naruto's abilities, even if it was used to try to kill him. He was really glad he got over his past issues and was free from Orochimaru's cursed seal. The feeling he had before about being weak was nothing compared to this. But instead of running to the sanest Sannin he could find, why not swallow his pride and ask the best person he could ask.

"Could you show me how you managed to get your fireballs as powerful?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"Why?" Naruto said.

"It will help us complete any future missions, and I'll teach you one of my own in return."

 **At the pier on the Uchiha lake**

It was like traveling back in time, back to a better time. Where is only worry was to make it father proud and piggybacking on Itachi's back. He remembered standing on the pier 5 years ago. He had spent days practising the hand signs. Tiger, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. However, it didn't end well. His father was too used to Itachi excelling at everything on the first attempt to help him fix his flaws. Instead, he was the flaw, someone that it was not worth spending any time with or invest any effort in.

"Are you ready?" Naruto said, punching Sasuke in the gut to get him back to reality. If he had to guess, it wasn't Naruto's first attempt to get his attention. Luckily for him, Naruto punched like a 9-year-old girl. He might have some powerful Jutsu, he wouldn't last long in a fist fight.

"Yes, so what should I do?" Sasuke said.

"Show me how you're doing it first," Naruto said.

Sasuke had done this a thousand times before. Forming the seals, breathing in, collecting chakra to his lungs and blow it out in a steady pace.

"Use less chakra and blow out the fire faster," Naruto said.

Sasuke did as he was told, what he produced was more of a flamethrower than a fireball.

"Now do both at the same time."

"How can I be slow and fast at the same time?"

"You mold as fast as you can, but blow it out as slow as possible."

Sasuke did as he was told. Forming the hand signs, he began molding chakra and hoped for the best. Some might argue that he was seeing something, but the fireball looked slightly bigger. If someone were to argue, he'd just point out that he was an Uchiha. Known for their eyesight and fire Jutsu. Disregard the fact that half of the remaining Uchiha are almost blind at the moment.

Wait, how could he forget about Tobi. What was he up to now if he existed? Should he warn Konoha about the true leader of Akatsuki?

"You should continue to train by molding as much chakra as you can, then as fast as you can and end it with doing both at the same time," Naruto said.

It was obviously not a very good training regime for Sasuke since he had a limited chakra pool, but he was willing to try.

"Why do you want to master the Jutsu? You won't make much use of it."

"It was the first and last Jutsu my father taught me, on the same pier we're standing on now. In his eyes, I was never good enough and I failed hard. On my first attempt, my fireball was the size of my head, after that he didn't bother teaching me anymore, or tell me how to improve. I wasn't Itachi, I couldn't do everything on the first attempt, and I still can't," Sasuke said, and added in his mind, 'Itachi doesn't even trust me on living my life properly on the first attempt.'

"As much as I love my brother, I can't say he was very helpful in the last months before the massacre. All I got from him was a poke to the head and a promise of 'Maybe next time'.

"I can't really blame him. He was under lots of pressure. From his job as an ANBU captain to expectations from the clan. After Shisui's death, and after he was accused of killing his best friend, I'm not surprised he snapped."

A chilling feeling swept over him, he didn't notice it before now, but Kyuubi's chakra was leaking from Naruto.

'Shit, this was not going to happen. He had no chance against Naruto normally, so what chance did he have when Naruto was using his Jinchuuriki powers?'

"Need help?" Kakashi said, appearing in a puff of smoke.

For once, he wasn't two hours late.

* * *

 **Later that evening**

After the little incident with Kyuubi, the Hokage had offered to talk to Sasuke about any questions he might have. They were now sitting in the ramen stand waiting for their orders. Sasuke had to admit that he was a bit anxious, as he had never had much contact with the man. While his Naruto had much contact with the Hokage through his childhood, it was not normal procedure for the village leader to visit every orphan, not even if you were the last Uchiha.

"What did you do to Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"What are you talking about" Sarutobi responded.

"I know about Root."

Sarutobi took a sip of his drink and was clearly contemplating how he should deal with the situation before he continued "Naruto wasn't forced into Root."

Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He chose it himself," the Hokage paused trying to find the right words "Naruto did not… particularly fit in at the Academy."

"Let me bring you back to Naruto's first days at the academy."

* * *

It had been Naruto's first day in the academy and I decided to check up on him and treat him a bowl of Ramen at this very restaurant afterwards.

" _Good morning Hokage-sama," a silver-haired academy teacher greeted me._

" _Good morning Mizuki, how was Naruto today?" I said._

" _He has been nice for most of the day." Mizuki voice was a bit unnatural._

I found it odd that he was sweating, but didn't think much of it at the time It could have simply been that he was nervous in front of the Hokage, but the truth was soon revealed.

A child's cry came from the other room. He was begging for his sensei.

Both I and Mizuki ran into the classroom. My worst fear was confirmed - Naruto was beating up on a weaker student. Mizuki grabbed his hand and dragged him off of the poor child.

" _Naruto, why did you do that?" I asked him, giving him a disappointing look._

" _I was bored," Naruto stated flatly, not too different from how he acts today._

He did not even try to defend himself. Not that I could see anything that justified the situation.

 **Some time after.**

" _Hokage-sama, it's good that you're here," Mizuki said and was clearly relieved that I finally came._

" _What did Naruto do this time?"_

" _He tried to kill another student."_

" _Let me talk to him, are you sure you're not just overreacting?"_

I had not gotten the best impression of Naruto before this, but I assumed that was because he spent most of his time alone and isolated.

" _He is sitting in my office. I hope you don't mind that I tied him to the wall, I didn't want him to run away or try to attack other students."_

I really hoped he was lying, I hoped Naruto had a good excuse for what he did.

" _Naruto did you try to kill one of your classmates?"_

" _Yes, why?"_

" _Why, you cannot do that. Would you care to give me an explanation?"_

" _I was practising. They say your first kill is the hardest, so I wouldn't want to hesitate in a real battle." He was tilting his head, clearly trying to act innocently._

I wasn't sure if he was genuine and didn't know better, or if he didn't care if he was acting like a _demon child_.

 **Short time after with Danzo**

I did what I usually do when I have a problem I can't solve myself and invited my good friend and advisor.

" _I assumed you didn't invite me her just for tea," Danzo said and took a sip of his cup._

" _You have been interested in Uzumaki Naruto," I said._

" _Yes, and I'm glad you accepted my proposal to enroll him into the academy early."_

" _I'll have a new proposal for you. I let Naruto join Root, but if he wants to leave or if I see any abuse, I'll pull him out. Of course, I'll expect him to stay for some time before making up his decision."_

" _I might be old, I'm not senile yet. What are you trying to accomplish, and why do you think he'll even stay in Root after his trial period?"_

" _We both know that you care deeply about Konoha, even if I can't always approve of your methods. I just recently I caught him trying to kill a fellow student as training. So I think we can both agree that he'll fit well into your little organization."!_

* * *

"Naruto decided to stay in Root, and now Danzo has decided to let him fill the empty spot on your team," Sarutobi said.

"How do you he really know that Naruto wanted it? Did you just take Danzo's word for it?" Sasuke raised his voice.

"I'm not called the God of Shinobi for nothing," Sarutobi smiled. "I have talked to him directly several times and I had with me a different Hyuuga every time to look for signs of a genjutsu and to make sure that they were not lying to me and wasn't missed something. As I'm not foreign to being tricked or lied to by Danzo."

Sasuke wanted to add, "Why should I trust _you_?", but decided against it for some very good reasons.

* * *

 **On the way to the Hokage's office**

Naruto had just come back from his latest mission and was finally with them again. He didn't really understand why Naruto was on their team, as he didn't do any missions with them. He should have asked Sarutobi about it last time when he had an open opportunity, but asking now would just be suspicious or it would look like he was sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Though he couldn't blame Konoha for not wanting to waste that talent on chores. The traces of blood and mud in Naruto's hair was a clear sign that his previous mission wasn't exactly peaceful.

"Ready for more D-ranks?" Kakashi asked his students, before a new day of torture could start.

"Why can't we get something more exciting? Surely we're ready for a C-rank with you and Naruto on the team," Sasuke said. It had been a boring two years for him compared to his former life. Sure a C-ranked mission would still be quite tame compared to his life with Taka. Or was it Hebi? Not that his weird naming habits really mattered. It would still provide the chance for some real _fighting_ , and not just friendly spars with Sakura who didn't put up too much of a challenge. He didn't want to, nor was he allowed to spar with Naruto, and Kakashi wasn't called a jounin for nothing.

"You should know how it works by now. While C-ranks are given to both chuunin and genin, it's usually reserved for genin with more experience. You will get no benefit out of it if we are carrying you through all the action. D-ranks are perfect for you two at this point. Some cat chasing would sure provide you with the same level of excitement as any high-ranked mission will."

"Actually, I want you for an important A-ranked mission. Shimura Danzo is in charge of this, and will tell you the details in his office," the Hokage said.

They say you should be careful about what you wish for, and this was definitely true here. If the challenges he encountered in the genjutsu were realistic, this could very well end with the entire team dead. Zabuza was playing with them and they barely won, and that was a C-ranked gone wrong. How would an A-ranked gone wrong turn out with an opponent that takes them seriously?

"Don't be too excited, I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding. Danzo most likely didn't mean to include you two in the mission. Gai will be happy to supervise you while we're gone. "

Sasuke might not have been the brightest student at the academy, but he remembered quite well how mission ranks worked. It was based on both the team size and difficulty. An S-ranked given to a single person might just be an A- or a B-ranked given to a four-man team. And if you couldn't carry your own weight, you would just make it harder for everyone else.

Danzo's office was fairly tidy and clean, which was more an indicator that he didn't spend too much time here than for official business. Most people never thought about it, but higher ranked ninja cleaned their own offices and living space in fear of spies, or just curious genin sticking their noses where they shouldn't. And Danzo being the paranoid man he was, probably didn't even trust his own Root with this task.

"Are you planning to use Sasuke-kun as cannon fodder?!" Sakura yelled and was ready to punch the _literal embodiment_ of _darkness_ if he gave her the wrong answer. She was probably thinking the exact same thought as him, that this mission was way above their abilities.

"Will you let me speak before you commit treason?" Danzo said. Sasuke couldn't read what the man thought, but if he was to guess he was probably conflicted about congratulating her fearless nature or reprimanding her for letting emotions take over.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous, we haven't even been on our first C-ranked yet." Sakura looked down and her voice was a bit quieter this time.

"The Wind Daimyo fears that someone is trying to kill him and have asked us for help," Danzo said.

"Why did they ask us and not Suna?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eye.

"He fears he will be assassinated by Suna and our own intelligence backs up his suspicions."

"So why not send a team of ANBU, I'm sure they are much more up to the task than us."

"We cannot station a team of ANBU there indefinitely, we need to lure out the attackers and that's where you come in. For an outsider, you look no different from a standard genin team, which will make them underestimate you. You will, of course, not be alone, but the goal is to trick them into attacking what they think will be a weak spot, and Uzumaki will fill that role perfectly. Sending just you and him would raise some red flags, so I asked for the entire team, but I assure you that your other students will be perfectly safe."

Kakashi frowned, but otherwise said nothing as they collected their orders and made their way out of the tower.

* * *

 **With Sakura later that day**

"Mom, we got a mission to Suna, so I'll be gone for a while," Sakura told her mother.

"Did Tora flee that far this time?" Mebuki asked with a small smile.

"No, mom," Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes. "This is a serious mission. We're going to defend the Wind Daimyo."

"Who in their right mind thought _that_ was a good idea?"

"Danzo, I think?"

"An old man with half his face covered in bandages?"

"Uhh.. yes?"

"Stay away from him," Mebuki scowled suddenly, turning to look her daughter right in the eye. "He might look like an old cripple, but he is the most dangerous person you'll ever meet."

"Do you know him?"

"I meet him in the council meetings, where he is often complaining about D-ranks being too cheap and that Genin doesn't get enough training since they're busy doing simple chores. And then he proceeds to accuse the civilian population of putting the village at risk just to get some cheap labour. But there are other matters I can't really talk about that aren't as lighthearted."

"Relax, Mom," Sakura said tiredly. "I promise I'll be careful."

* * *

 **Later that night**

While others trove in the light, Danzo preferred the dark tunnels under Konoha. Once again, he found himself preparing for a mission that couldn't stand the light of the sun.

Danzo handed out a red scroll to one of his agents. "You know what to do with it."

"Hai," Naruto responded.

"Keep in mind that failure is not an option."

* * *

 **Author's Note(s): I want to thank EndoplasmicPanda for help in writing this chapter.**

 **If you have some input or feedback, feel free to leave a review. I'm new to this and I would appreciate some pointers about where to improve.**


	4. Full of Blood

**Chapter 4: Full of Blood**

* * *

"Sensei, it's too hot! Can we _please_ take a rest?"

"Okay," Kakashi said with a flat tone and a shrug.

"It's like you're trying to kill us," Sakura continued. "I know that we live a dangerous life as ninjas, but I don't want to be killed by a heatstroke."

Kakashi gave her a look. "I just said it was okay."

Sakura stumbled over herself. "Wait, really? I just expected you to be stricter now that we're on a mission and push us harder."

"I don't mind a decent rest every now and then. If it was up to me I'd be sitting outside my apartment and reading a good book right now. But sadly, babysitting you on your missions is part of the job description." Kakashi proceeded to poke around in the sand with his foot. "Okay, this seems to be a nice place to stop." He cast a look towards Sasuke, and tossed him a heavy bag. the pack on his back. "Will you help me with the tent, Sasuke?"

* * *

"Since we're not moving, we should get some sleep. Sakura and I will take the first watch," Kakashi told his team.

"Wouldn't it be better if we split it up in four, so we would all get more rest?" Sasuke asked.

"There is two reasons not to. First, four eyes see better than two. And secondly, what if one of us is a traitor?"

"What if both me and Naruto are traitors?"

"Then please tell Gai that he can move on and find himself a new rival."

* * *

"Wake up Naruto, it's our watch." Sasuke said, handing Naruto a steaming hot cup of ramen as he rose to a sitting position. Sasuke was just about to poke him in the side to get him to wake up but decided to not risk being poked back.

"I bet you haven't tasted this before. It's good, right?" Sasuke asked as Naruto had eaten a bit.

"I have." Naruto set aside the cup and pulled back the flaps of the tent. He made special effort to not spill the cup as he did so, and he brought it with him as he stepped out into the crisp predawn air.

Sasuke smirked again. "Oh, I didn't think you got food like that in Root."

Naruto reached for his tanto. "How do you know about-"

"Looking for this?" Sasuke held up the weapon far enough that Naruto couldn't grab it without jumping. "Can we please go a day without you trying to kill me?"

Naruto just stared at him.

"I'll give it back if you tell me about your first cup of ramen." Sasuke never thought he'd have to ask Naruto about something like that; normally he would have to bribe Naruto to _not_ talk about it.

But those memories was just a figment of his imagination.

"I got it as a reward," Naruto said through gritted teeth, his eyes like fire. "can I get it back now?" Sasuke could feel the embarrassment radiating off the other boy like heat from a lamp. Which told Sasuke that Naruto's previous behaviour wasn't exactly genuine; he wasn't the mindless drone he appeared as at first. He was Naruto.

Unless this was just an act, too.

"Reward for what?"

Naruto floundered for a moment, before he huffed and threw himself on the ground, his hand rubbing at his forehead. "My… first kill."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Naruto didn't respond for a moment. When he did, it was barely above a whisper. "I used to get it as a reward for… for killing." He sighed, and scrunched his eyebrows across his forehead. "But now I've started to enjoy doing it."

"And that scares you."

Naruto said nothing.

"How old were you?"

Naruto turned and glared up at Sasuke. "I don't remember. Why do you care, anyway?"

Sasuke blinked. "I…"

But Naruto had already deflated, his vision returning to the desert floor between his crossed legs.

"What about you?" he finally asked, much to Sasuke's surprise.

"Me?" Sasuke was a bit confused.

"Your first kill," Naruto said, as he ate the last bit of ramen. "More?"

"What?"

Naruto held up his cup towards Sasuke.

Sasuke went into the tent and rummaged through the bag where Kakashi kept the food.

His first kill… had he even killed anyone? The loud blond idiot in Akatsuki blew himself up, Itachi died from his illness in the middle of their fight, and Danzo didn't even give him the satisfaction of delivering the killing blow.

None of it was real anyway, or else he would have been killed all three times. They all were superior enemies.

He picked up another cup of ramen and poured boiling water into it, ignoring the way Naruto was watching him, expecting some sort of answer. He turned and handed the cup to Naruto as soon as he had stopped pouring, certain Naruto was smart enough to figure out how to finish the process himself.

"Here."

"Thanks."

Sasuke frowned. "I haven't killed anyone yet."

"Do you want to?"

Sure. There was little debate about that. Sasuke wanted to kill Danzo, but was it worth the sacrifice? Killing him wouldn't bring his family back. Nothing would. But if he played nice, he could get a little brother instead and a normal life. Killing Danzo would throw all that away.

"No," Sasuke said, without much explanation.

"Are you ever afraid?"

"Of what?"

"That you'll get left behind."

"We're a team," Sasuke responded easily. "I'll never abandon you, no matter what." he paused, [here's a good place to add some environmental reference - show Sasuke looking at something in ponderance for example]. Even... if you betray the village, I won't betray you." He turned and gave Naruto a subtle smile.

"I mean, do you ever fear that the village will abandon you. Betray you?"

He couldn't really claim that the village had betrayed the Uchiha. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his clan had been planning a coup. So what could he call it? Mutual betrayal? Maybe, but they didn't really betray _him_.

And he would most likely get away with it, too. Naruto was going to become the next Hokage and would not have let anyone punish him. The worst that could happen was that Naruto would force Sasuke to buy him ramen for the rest of his life, a small price for what he had done. A small price to pay back Naruto's sacrifice. But no, he was going to give more back. He would not let Naruto do anything was going to give Naruto a better life. Even if that meant that he had to become Hokage himself.

"Kakashi is going to have our back, so don't worry about it."

"I don't like him," Naruto responded.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow himself, turning to watch his blond companion - who had now strangely become more reserved.

"Oh?"

Naruto fidgeted, but continued. "It hurts," he said. "very time he uses his eyes on me it hurts. I'm not longer in control, I feel…"

He froze.

Sasuke moved in front of him and slid to his knees, watching Naruto's reaction with a frown.

Naruto was shaking. Whether it was from anger or pain or sadness, Sasuke wasn't sure. But his teammate was struggling with _something_ , and it pained him.

Fighting against his urge to move further away rather than closer, Sasuke reached forward and tried to pull Naruto into his chest. At first, Naruto resisted, flinching, but after one more sharp tug, Naruto fell forward.

The blond unraveled.

"Just let it out," Sasuke said, stiffly patting Naruto's head as the boy clung to him, shaking.

"But..." Naruto's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "But a ninja is not... supposed to show emotion like this."

His voice was lower now. "I'm a failure."

Sasuke frowned, and pulled Naruto away from him so he could meet his younger teammate's eyes. "What? No. You're not. Strength isn't about being strong. It's about overcoming great challenges despite being weak." He rolled his eyes at the look Naruto gave him. "What's the point of creating a better world if you don't get to be a part of it?"

* * *

Team 7 arrived in the Wind Capital the next day. The town was quite peaceful - children ran from market stall to market stall, shinobi watched from the shadows with small smiles on their faces, and the civilians were simply going about their daily lives.

No one could have guessed that someone was about to assassinate their leader.

They stopped outside the palace for a short briefing, Kakashi giving them a bland look as the genin fell into line.

"You're now about to talk to one of the most powerful people in the world, so remember to treat him with respect and remember to bow, all of you," Kakashi told his students. "And remember while the head of security knows about the plan, the Daimyo doesn't."

When Kakashi was sure that they got the message, they went in to meet the man they were hired to protect.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted the Wind Daimyo with his hands in his pockets, while the rest of the team did as they were told.

Sakura's eye twitched.

"Oh, it's you guys. Konoha couldn't spare us any better?"

Kakashi bristled at first, then settled back into his infamous slouch. "My Genin are quite good, actually. They can catch a cat in under two hours." He was, of course, joking. Sakura and Sasuke had never managed to catch the damn cat. But he couldn't let the Daimyo know that.

The Daimyo proceeded to whisper something to his advisor. If Kakashi had to guess it would be about requesting some other ninja, but half the fun of this job was to mess with clients once in awhile.

"Don't worry. Ninjas are much easier to catch than a cat, and I'm not an A-ranked jounin for nothing."

The Daimyo scowled at Kakashi and turned to leave, casting aside the palace doors as if they were playing cards. Kakashi watched him leave, and had to hold back a snicker.

The jounin turned with a sigh and looked down at his team, eyes traveling toward Sakura. "Alright, that went well. Sakura, you're with me. Naruto and Sasuke?" he paused for a moment, stroking the chin underneath his mask. "You two stay out of trouble."

* * *

Despite being in the middle of the desert, the area wasn't completely dry. Outside the palace, Sasuke could see a large green garden with a bathhouse in the middle.

"You know, I promised to teach you a new Jutsu," Sasuke told Naruto.

"Is it good?" Naruto answered back, bored. Sasuke was glad that this Naruto wasn't as hyper as the old one, but he had wished that this one was a bit more enthusiastic, just without the jumping up and down.

"Of course, you could knock out a Kage with it." A perverted one that is, but he didn't want to spoil that for him.

"You're not planning to kill the Hokage, are you?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes. Sasuke didn't miss the way the blond's shoulders tensed, as if he was fighting the urge to draw his tanto.

Not that it was there anyway.

"You know, you won't last long if you're this predictable," Sasuke smirked, holding the blade just out t of Naruto's reach again. "And you're not planning on assassinating any Kage yourself, are you?"

Naruto gave no answer.

"But first, we need to do some research."

By research, Sasuke meant peeping at women. Something he _never_ thought he'd have to do.

* * *

Unlike what one might find in the Land of Fire, the water in the "hot" springs was cool - cold, almost. Still, the result was the same as it was most everywhere else in the Elemental Nations - mostly naked women, a divided bathhouse, and a silver-haired man who was undoubtedly trying to worm his way into the opposite gender's side of the building.

Naruto barely gave the man more than a passing glance as he and Sasuke made their way inside, still fully clothed. "What are we doing here?" He frowned. "Is it a water Jutsu? I'm not very good at those."

"No, you're going to learn how to take advantage of perverted old men," Sasuke responded, casting a sidelong glare at the Toad Sage across the bathhouse.

In retrospect, he wasn't entirely sure how Naruto pulled off the Sexy Jutsu in the first place. Every time the blond had tried to "teach" him the technique, Sakura would beat him to a pulp for "objectifying women" - and Sasuke was always just glad that Naruto had gone away and left him alone again.

Now, of all the things he wished he had done in the alternate world, he was regretting not just letting the idiot speak.

With a sigh, Sasuke resigned himself to his fate. Once again, he found himself emulating something the other Naruto did that once would have infuriated him.

After thinking about it for a moment, Sasuke realized that he was trying to copy a jutsu that an Academy age Naruto could have come up with. More than that - a _dead-last_ Academy age Naruto.

With that in mind, the Sexy Jutsu suddenly made much more sense.

"Alright, let me show you," he said, after he was sure it would work.

He started counting off in his head something that he vaguely remembered the other Naruto explaining, for one reason or another. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Step one, base it on yourself. Step two, go big but not too big. Step three, leave something to the imagination. Final step, good acting."

Sasuke transformed into a girly version of himself, into what could look like a nice and curvy combination of him and Hinata. It seemed to be right from Naruto's many attempts to teach him the 'Jutsu'.

Sasuke poked the pervy sage with one hand and desperately tried to cover 'her' bare breast with the other without them falling out. "Mister, have you seen my top? I seem to have lost it." 'She' turned away, trying to look cute and embarrassed.

In response, 'she' was drenched in blood when the mighty toad sage passed out.

Sasuke ducked under to wash himself off -although he doubted he was ever going to be clean again.

Much to Sasuke's surprise, he found Naruto digging through Jiraiya's bag when he resurfaced.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

Naruto didn't answer and proceeded to pocket something from the bag, but Sasuke couldn't see what.

"How does the genjutsu work?" Naruto said, changing the subject. "It didn't seem to have any effect on me."

Sasuke wasn't exactly sure, he had felt no effect himself when Naruto had used it on him in the past. But he had seen the devastating effect it had on others.

"I don't know. I guess it only works on older people," Sasuke said with a shrug. "Now let's go before he wakes up."

* * *

Team 7 was gathered at a small dango stand near the palace, ready to step in if something unexpected happened.

"Are you all ready for tonight?"

"Sure, how hard can it be to defend an old man?" Sasuke replied, loud enough that people around could hear.

"The Daimyo is more than an old man. And put the plan down Sakura, you don't read sensitive information in public."

"Oh… sorry, Sensei! It was just something I wanted to ask you about..."

This was all part of their plan, of course: To act like a weak genin team sent on a mission they shouldn't be on and set out the bait.

"Let's talk about that later when we're alone - put it away for now," Kakashi told Sakura with a stern tone.

"Sorry." Sakura put the scroll back in the bag she had placed on the stool between her and Naruto, to avoid sitting too close to him. Now they just had to wait for someone to take it.

"These are delicious, you should treat us to lunch more often sensei," she said.

"W-what? I didn't say anything about paying!"

"Too late! we don't have any money with us." Sakura stuck out her tongue at Kakashi.

"It's gone," Sasuke intervened.

"I didn't notice anything," Sakura said and looked at the empty bag she had the scroll in.

"That just means that they are better than you."

"So why didn't you see anything?" Sasuke asked his Sensei.

"Good question," he answered. "Good question. I fear this will be more dangerous than expected."

* * *

Kakashi's catchphrase, 'look underneath the underneath' came to his mind now. They were surrounded by sand. No one would have noticed if someone like Gaara controlled it. Sasuke frowned. That would have explained why no one had seen anything. This was not good at all. Naruto seemed to be depending on taking people by surprise, to have his opponents underestimate him, but none of those tricks would work with the redhead's sand. Should he warn Naruto, or would that just gather Danzo's attention that something was wrong with him?

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke were hiding behind a short wall by the main entrance along with several of the Daimyo's guards. There were archers on the roof ready to strike at anyone trying to enter this way. But if everything went as planned, none of them would fire a single shot.

"Sakura, are you OK?" Sasuke whispered to his team mate.

"S.. sure, it's just that I've never done this before.".

"You're not going to do anything either. I'm more worried about Naruto, he's the one that is supposed to handle the attack."

Sakura didn't say anything.

"He isn't as bad as you think, he only does what he have been told is right."

"He tried to kill us," Sakura said with a raised voice.

Sasuke snorted. "And last night he snuggled in my arms."

Sakura blinked, but chose not to comment. "You're sure he is not manipulating you?"

Sasuke didn't want honour her with any response. Of course, Naruto wasn't manipulating him, it might not be as apparent now, but he could see his friend and the babbling idiot inside him.

"Are you sure you're not jealous?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Sakura outright glared at him. "I've wanted you for years and then you decide to buddy up with _him_."

"He grew up without any parents, Sakura. Of course he has some issues."

" _You_ didn't. I'm jealous of you two sometimes. No parents to yell at you for being late home, no one that embarrasses you in public."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't reply. Sakura seemed to take the hint, and didn't carry their conversation further; instead, they redirected their focus back to the mission at hand.

But a thought at the back of Sasuke's mind continued to scratch away at his sanity. He brushed it off, bristling in anger at Sakura, and himself. - and, to a lesser extent, the world.

No one was manipulating him. And he wouldn't listen to anyone insulting his friend.

* * *

It had been a few hours and nothing had happened. Sasuke hadn't talked to Sakura any more that night and had trouble staying awake. The worst was that it could be weeks before the enemy struck against them. Did they notice the trap?

Sasuke didn't have any time thinking about that as the alarm bells were ringing. The only thing in his mind now was Naruto's safety.

 **Author's Note(s): I want to thank EndoplasmicPanda for help in writing this chapter.**

 **If you have some input or feedback, feel free to leave a review. I'm new to this and I would appreciate some pointers about where to improve.**


End file.
